5 Mentors Who Shaped Sansa Stark's Journey To Become Queen In The North

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) had Game of Thrones' best ending thanks to five mentors the Queen in the North learned from. Sophie Turner recently spoke about being the only one of Game of Thrones' main cast who was happy with where her character ended up after Game of Thrones' controversial 2019 finale.

It's easy to forget that fans first reviled Sansa Stark for being naive and supporting her betrothed, King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), in Game of Thrones season 1. Sansa was held hostage by the Lannisters after the shocking execution of her father, Ned Stark (Sean Bean).

After Sansa was forced to marry Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), she escaped with the help of Lord Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen). However, Littlefinger sold Sansa to the Boltons, and she was forced to marry Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) to secure the Boltons' control of the North.

Sansa Stark survived terrible abuse and horrors, becoming instrumental in the Stark family taking back the North. At the end of Game of Thrones, Sansa shrewdly enforced the North's independence from the Seven Kingdoms.

Sansa Stark being crowned Queen in the North was a hard-won achievement thanks to the many harsh lessons she learned from her five ersatz Game of Thrones mentors.

Sansa Stark Learned From Cersei Lannister

It can be argued that Sansa Stark learned more from Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) than she did from her own mother, Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairly). Cersei never hid her most repugnant sides from Sansa, and the Lannister Queen delighted in being sadistic towards the young Lady Stark, especially when they were trapped together during the Battle of Blackwater.

Sansa escaping King's Landing in Game of Thrones season 4 was, in effect, Lady Stark escaping Cersei's clutches. Yet Cersei's evil was burned into Sansa, who understood what depravity Cersei was capable of better than her own brothers, Tyrion and Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).

From Cersei, Sansa learned what never to do as a Queen.

Sansa Stark Learned From Tyrion Lannister

Sansa Stark's forced marriage to Tyrion Lannister was a political maneuver by Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) to secure control of the North through Lady Stark. Sansa never wanted to marry The Imp, and Tyrion was in love with Shae (Sibil Kekilli), who would eventually betray "her lion" and sleep with his father, Tywin.

Sansa soon learned that Tyrion was kind as well as intelligent, and The Imp proved he was the best member of his family. Whenever Tyrion shared his intellect with his young wife, Sansa listened and grew to respect him.

Sansa's admiration for Tyrion was the building block of her own realization that her survival must depend on thinking and outmaneuvering, rather than being a pawn in the game of thrones.

Sansa Stark Learned From Littlefinger

Lord Petyr Baelish helped Sansa Stark escape King's Landing in Game of Thrones season 4, but Sansa wisely realized she couldn't trust Littlefinger. Using his history with Catelyn Stark, Littlefinger posed as Sansa's savior, but she came to understand that what Baelish wanted was power and to control Sansa, whom he wanted sexually.

Still, Sansa learned to be smarter than her enemies, thanks to Lord Baelish. Littlefinger's lessons to Sansa about how to think about her enemies, and how to only take actions that further her goals, were essential to Lady Stark.

Sansa saw through Littlefinger's attempt to pit her against her sister, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), and the Stark daughters personally executed Lord Baelish in Game of Thrones season 7.

Sansa Stark Learned From Ramsay Bolton

The most cruel lessons Sansa Stark learned in Game of Thrones came from Ramsay Bolton, her second husband. Any hopes Sansa might have had for her union with Ramsay were immediately dashed when the Bolton Bastard revealed his violent depravities, beating and abusing Sansa in their marriage bed.

Sansa's hatred of Ramsay made her clear-eyed about what kind of enemy he was, and how the new Lord Bolton had to be defeated at any cost in the Battle of the Bastards. Far more than Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa understood Ramsay's mind and the atrocities he was capable of.

Sansa's satisfaction when she fed the beaten Ramsay to his own vicious dogs proved how much she truly learned from the Bolton Bastard.

Sansa Stark Learned From Robb Stark & Jon Snow

Sansa learned from her two brothers, Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and Jon Snow, how not to rule the North. Both Robb and Jon were crowned King in the North, and their reigns were short-lived because, as Sansa clearly understood, the two Stark brothers made "stupid mistakes," including who they fell in love with.

Robb Stark marrying Talisa (Oona Chaplin) broke a pact that cost him the allegiance of the North and led to their slaughter at the Red Wedding. Sansa was consistently disappointed in King Jon's decision-making and devotion to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), whom Sansa never trusted.

Sansa proved to be much smarter than Robb and Jon Snow, and the Queen in the North's Game of Thrones ending reflects how far Sansa Stark had come from how she began.